Lodges with hot tubs near Cheddar

Cheddar sits where the Mendip Hills drop to the Somerset Levels, the gorge cut into the slope right behind the village. The village itself gets busy in summer, so the lodges and cottages here stand a few miles out, in the quiet farmland and villages that circle it. The gap is deliberate. You get the gorge as a day out, and somewhere calm to come back to.

Closest are the timber lodges around Wedmore, four miles south across the Levels, and the quickest drive back to the gorge. They sit on a working farm, each sleeping six, and several can be booked side by side. That makes them an easy answer for two or three families travelling together. The Levels around them are flat and hedged, good for a gentle evening cycle once the day-trippers have gone home.

Over the hills to the north, around Blagdon and the Chew Valley, the choice is at its widest. Here you have a pod for two, a run of cottages near Bishop Sutton, and farmhouses big enough for three families or a whole celebration. Blagdon Lake and Chew Valley Lake are close by, good for a flat walk and some of the best fly fishing in the South West.

West towards the coast, the stays gather around Bleadon, Lympsham and Burnham-on-Sea. A shepherd's hut, a cabin and a handful of cottages are all within a few miles of the sand. If the children want a beach as well as a hot tub, this is the corner to head for, with Brean and Weston a short drive up the coast.

Every stay is self-catering, and the one luxury they share is a private hot tub, yours alone rather than a shared park spa. There is dog-friendly accommodation in every area, much of it with its own garden. Wherever you base yourself, the gorge, the coast and the cathedral city of Wells are each a short drive away.

Inside Cheddar Gorge and the caves

The gorge is free to walk and drive through, a deep limestone canyon with cliffs rising more than a hundred metres on either side. The road along the bottom is the easy part, and in high summer an open-top bus saves you the hunt for a parking space. The real reward is up top, on the clifftop loop that runs about four miles around the rim, with the Levels spread below and Glastonbury Tor in the distance on a clear day.

To reach it the quick way, climb Jacob's Ladder, the 274 steps beside the village, with another 48 to the top of the lookout tower. The view from up there settles any argument about the climb. The cliffs also draw climbers from across the country, so expect to see ropes on the rock as you walk.

Underground is the other half of the trip. Gough's Cave runs deep into the rock, a chain of lit chambers and still pools. It is also where Cheddar Man, Britain's oldest near-complete skeleton, was found in 1903. The same cool, damp air is why the village's cheese is still matured in the cave, so you can taste cheddar aged underground before you leave.

One ticket covers the caves, Jacob's Ladder, the lookout and the small museum; the clifftop walk itself is free.

A word on timing. Traffic builds on the gorge road and the car parks fill from late morning on summer weekends and in the school holidays. Come early or out of season to have the cliffs more to yourself. Spring and autumn are quietest, and the hot tub feels all the better after a cold morning on the cliffs.

Beyond the gorge, within easy reach

The gorge fills a morning, not a week. The rest of the time, much of Somerset lies within half an hour. There is a cathedral city to the east, a stretch of seaside to the west, and Bath and Bristol when you want pavement under your feet.